Utrecht Dom Tower

Fun facts about the Dom Tower Utrecht

• Mini-Dom tower Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht
  There is also a real Dom tower in Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht.
• Nagasaki Cathedral Tower, Japan
  In the Dutch theme park Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki there is a 105 meter high replica of the Utrecht Dom Tower.
• How many bells of the Dom Tower?
  The carillon in the Dom Tower consists of 50 bells. In addition, there are also 14 bells. The biggest bell? That's Salvator.
• Why is there an M on the clock?
  Just before the Second World War, the bells were provided with the letter M. This indicated its monumental status to prevent the bell from being melted down in the German war industry.
• Weathercock on the Dom Tower
  A weather vane of Saint Martin, the patron saint of Utrecht, is depicted on the spire of the Dom Tower. On the gold-leaf-gilded weathercock, Saint Martin sits on his horse and cuts off part of his cloak, which he then gives away to a beggar.
• Why are members of the Utrecht Student Corps (USC) not allowed to walk under the Dom Tower?
  Traditionally, members of the Utrecht Student Corps (USC) are not allowed to walk under the Dom Tower. According to the story, a depressed student once decided to jump off the Dom Tower. The Unitas member jumped from the Dom Tower but fell on a USC member who died on the spot. The Unitas student survived his jump; but to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again, members of the Utrecht Student Corps are not allowed to walk under the Cathedral. According to the Utrecht story.
• Negative Dom Tower
  The negative Dom Tower drills through all layers of the earth and defies the groundwater. The visitor can descend and thus study the history and archeology of Utrecht on site. This spectacular plan for an inverted Dom Tower was launched by artist Wim T. Schippers in 1997 at his retrospective exhibition in the Central Museum of Utrecht. The idea was never implemented, but in 2005 the Domplein Initiative Foundation came up with a spectacular underground plan that was successful: making the historic ground beneath the Cathedral accessible.
• Space '86
  In 1986, to promote the Space '86 event, a more than 100-meter-high image of a Saturn V space rocket was attached to the Dom Tower.